The Business of Pleasure
by wildhoneychild
Summary: Beth and Daryl go on a supply run, and end up finding a sex shop. Set sometime after "Alone", but Beth wasn't kidnapped.
1. Chapter 1

A blur of green trees passed them on the side of the road, and Daryl Dixon was leaning against the drivers' seat of the car, absentmindedly glancing at the stereo, playing some old Stones CD he'd managed to find in the console. Beth Greene sat beside him, one hand holding a map and the other draped out the window, wiggling her fingers through the breeze.

As they approached a seedy shopping center, Daryl pulled up into the parking lot, and the car shuddered to a stop. He and Beth hopped out, and walked wordlessly along the sidewalk, past all of the abandoned shops. "You remember what we're lookin' for?"

Beth nodded. They shuffled along, peering at the signs for a pet store, a pawn shop, a Chinese buffet that had clearly gone out of business years ago… Suddenly, Beth stopped in front of one small store and stared inside at the scantily-clad mannequins on display. The burned-out neon sign in the window read "Angel's Fantasies".

"What the hell?" Daryl murmured to himself.

Beth burst out in uncontrolled giggles. "Oh my god, it's a sex shop! Y'know, one of those places that sells porn by the bushel." She nudged him. "Don't tell me you've never been in one before."

Daryl stood with his arms stiffly crossed, avoiding eye contact. "I ain't even gonna answer that."

"I mean, I haven't either, but I've always been curious. Come on, we have to go in! It'll be fun!"

"We're s'posed to be lookin' for supplies," he grunted. "Ain't nothin' useful we can find in there."

She waggled her eyebrows at him teasingly. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. Anyway, I'm 18 - wanna check my ID, Mr. Dixon?" He scoffed, turning his face away so Beth wouldn't notice his flushed cheeks.

"Live a little!" she added over her shoulder.

Beth pried open the door, with Daryl reluctantly following. A layer of dust had settled over everything, stirring up when she went inside and catching sunlight in the air. She sneezed instinctively, then continued in unfazed. Daryl was behind her, looking mortified and sheepish but still stealing furtive glances around the place.

The floor was littered with magazines and DVD cases, and the cash register's drawer was popped open, empty. "Looks like somebody left in a hurry…. Guess it's not really the first place you'd go to loot, doesn't seem like anybody's picked through here."

"Oh, here's something useful." Beth picked up a few boxes of condoms and tucked them in her bag. Daryl gave her the side-eye. "What? They're for Maggie and Glenn." She paused. "We'll find 'em, you know. Soon. And I think they'd be grateful."

Daryl didn't say anything. He sat on the counter, balancing his chin on his bow. "Man… Gotta chase ya down on a damn hunt for booze, now you're frolicking around in a bunch of nudie mags and stripper digs. What's next, body shots and an ass tattoo?" His face remained stoic but the look in his eyes let Beth know he wasn't being unfriendly.

"Sounds fun," she replied with a smirk.

"Smart-ass."

Something else caught Beth's eye. "Ooh!" She raced excitedly over to a shelf full of fancy scented body washes and oils. They were supposed to contain pheromones to attract men. She opened a bottle of lavender-scented massage oil, rubbing it over her hands and under her arms. _Who knows,_ she thought dryly. _Maybe I'll get lucky. _She stuffed the bottle in her bag, along with a small tube of lubricant, which she figured had to be good for something - maybe fixing that creaky door at the funeral home?

Daryl hopped down and began to creep along the walls, crossbow in hand but at ease, still keeping an eye on Beth. He banged his fist on the doors of the cramped peep show booth.

"Man, I didn't even realize that was a thing," Beth marveled. "Gross. Imagine sitting in other peoples' bodily fluids and trying to get it up."

"Yeah, I'd rather not." A low rattle arose from within the booth. Daryl glanced at Beth, then threw the door open.

An old man leaned against the tiny bench, his pants around his ankles. His body was withered and his face half-rotted away. He let out a low groan that sounded almost like he was painfully wheezing., and slowly met Daryl and Beth with empty gray eyes. One hand pawed lazily in their direction, jaws clamping at the air. He stumbled to his feet, and then fell to the ground with a thud, his pants tripping him up. His torso snapped clean from his legs. The two backed away slowly, as he tried to drag his upper body toward them, wrinkled hands feebly pushing himself forward.

"Poor bastard," Daryl muttered. "Musta been in here since the Turn. Prob'ly died of a heart attack or somethin'."

"Look," Beth noticed. "He doesn't even have any teeth." She paused. "I wonder if he's still, y'know… dangerous."

"Yeah, well, I ain't about to find out." He looked at her solemnly. "They're all dangerous, Beth."

They stood there for a moment, just observing the old man as he drew nearer to them. Finally, Beth unsheathed her knife and drove it into his skull. After peering at him a moment longer, she continued wandering around the store.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a lot to take in. Sure, Beth knew what things like dildos and vibrators were - for the most part - but she'd never actually seen one in person, and her experience with Internet porn and sex education was extremely limited out of fear of her father's retribution. Her friends always called her a prude because she couldn't even say the word "masturbation" without blushing, and she freaked out if Jimmy so much as grazed her breast while they kissed. But now, she regarded it all with fascination. She had matured a lot since those days, and felt that she was far from the naive little girl growing up on the farm.

Some of the things seemed bizarre, and she couldn't even fathom how they were used. There were rows of enormous plastic objects with intimidating names, and painful-looking bondage devices. Rather than turning away in embarrassment, she couldn't help but laugh. Who the hell used these things?

Daryl kept his distance, standing several feet away with a look on his face implying he'd rather be anywhere else but there. Still, he kept scanning the shelves with a restrained curiosity, looking at the covers of magazines featuring busty girls wearing almost nothing. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd jacked off, much less looking at porn. Truthfully, his experiences weren't that much more impressive than Beth's. He always felt sorta weird and skeevy looking at women like that. He didn't want to take after Merle.

He realized with horror that one of the girls that the magazine proclaimed "barely legal" looked eerily like Beth, only with darker blond hair and obviously fake tits, and an empty smile on her face in place of Beth's big doe eyes and sweet, demure expressions. He immediately averted his gaze and shook his head, flipping the magazine over in a hurry.

Meanwhile, Beth's eyes settled on a small, cute pink bullet vibrator. She touched the box wistfully and had the urge to grab it. But there was no way she'd be able to use it with Daryl sleeping so close to her, without him knowing exactly what she was doing. A blush creeped up her cheeks at the thought. Privacy was a rare commodity these days.

She found her way over to the racks of lingerie, one hand absentmindedly running her fingers along the smooth fabric. She was down to her last two pairs of underwear, the waistbands stretched out and holes wearing through. She didn't even entertain the idea of crotchless panties - _why wear anything at all?_ she thought.

There were many other ridiculous, impractical getups. Candy G-strings, thigh high 8-inch boots, and "sexy" costumes for every fantasy imaginable. People used to wear these things for fun? She had to chuckle after spotting a male stripper outfit that resembled Rick's sheriff uniform.

Still, there were some nice things… She picked up a matching bra and panty set, with navy blue lace and ruffles on the butt. It was lovely, but not something that seemed easily destroyed.

"Don't…. don't look, okay?" Beth glanced awkwardly at Daryl, suddenly feeling shy. He just nodded. _Fuck._

She ducked behind a shelf and stripped off her clothes, pulling the new underwear on over her hips. Daryl kept to his promise, but couldn't help but catch a glimpse of her bare back, with that smooth, pale skin and her blond hair in a loose braid draped over her shoulder. Oh god.

Daryl could feel his breath catch in his throat and his pants get a little tighter. He quickly looked away and tried to think of something else. _Jesus Christ, you're killing me here, girl._

After a moment, Beth felt hyper-aware of Daryl's presence in the room and couldn't decide if it made her excited or embarrassed. She hurriedly put her clothes on. Although she had lost weight since fleeing the prison, and her jeans hung a little loose on her hips, the lingerie fit well, and felt soft and satiny against her skin.

She paused, straightening up, and realized that the atmosphere in the room had changed. There was now a tense silence hanging over their heads, and she wondered if she'd done something wrong. "Ready to go?" she asked.

Daryl cleared his throat and picked up his crossbow, holding it strategically in front of him. He cursed the existence of his dick and its ability to have a mind of its own. "Yeah."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you all so much for your lovely comments, follows, and favorites - and for just reading! I really appreciate them and it's made me encouraged to keep writing! I tried to make this chapter a bit longer and more detailed... and smutty :) The next chapter will be the last one, but this definitely won't be my last Bethyl story!

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Neither of them spoke as they returned to the car. Daryl walked quickly ahead of Beth, stopping only to dispatch a few straggling walkers that crossed their path. She was puzzled as to why he was in such a hurry, her boots clicking as she tried to keep up. He reached the car before her, sitting in the drivers' seat and staring straight ahead. When Beth caught up, she gave him an inquisitive look before slamming her door shut and tossing her bag in the backseat.

"What was that about?"

"Nothin', you just have short legs... Have fun in there?" Daryl asked in a careful, even voice. His cock strained against his fly, and he was so hard that he swore all of the blood rushed out of his brain, because he couldn't think straight.

Beth chuckled, in that sweet, maddening, musical little way. "Yep... I think next, we should go-"

Her voice was cut off by the unexpected presence of his mouth against hers. Beth was stunned stiff for a second, before she let herself kiss him back with the same intensity.

After several moments, Daryl pulled away, trying to catch his breath. Beth's eyes fluttered open in surprise, and she struggled to string a sentence together. "What…. what was that?"

Truthfully, he couldn't believe what he had just done either. It was so uncharacteristic for him, but he couldn't deny the longing that had been building up over the previous weeks - the way he felt when she came out of the shower and smelled of shampoo, or when she sat at the piano and played while singing to herself, unaware of him in the doorway. He hadn't been with a woman in so long, and Beth was the last person he expected to fall for. Seeing her in such a hyper-sexual environment and catching sight of her tight little body changing into lingerie was the breaking point. She wasn't stupid - she had to know what she was doing, right?

Daryl had no idea how to express everything he felt for her, so he just broke out into a sly grin. "I just… You are such a fuckin' tease, you know that?"

At the sight of his face - the rare smile - Beth started laughing with Daryl, playfully elbowing his chest. Their laughter subsided and she leaned into him and started to kiss him again, harder and with an animalistic ferocity. While still holding his gaze and biting her slick lower lip, Beth pulled off her dirty tank top, and tossed it in the backseat. Daryl was astonished at the sight before him, and he placed his hands on her like a horny teenager getting to second base for the first time. He felt the curves of her small breasts beneath her new bra, and rolled her nipples between his fingers before slipping it off and diving in hungrily.

"Mmm," she hummed against his lips, shimmying out of her boots and jeans. Finally, she discarded of her wet panties. Daryl wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. Beth spread her legs and straddled him. She wanted him so badly that it ached in the pit of her stomach.

Beth tore open the wrapper of a condom from the new box she'd acquired, and Daryl fumbled with his belt and zipper. His cock sprang free from his boxers and he hurriedly put it on. She generously applied lubricant to the tip, and moved her naked body closer to his, until they fit together like puzzle pieces. He tilted his head toward her neck and inhaled her scent until he felt lightheaded and drunk, and she knelt over him, steadying herself.

"Wait," Daryl panted, pulling back to examine her face. He was torn between his desires and his need to protect her and be different than the scumbag he'd been raised to be. He felt guilty deep down, like he was doing something wrong, even though everything about Beth screamed that she wanted it. "You, uh, you sure 'bout this?"

His attempts at gentlemanly conduct just made Beth smile and want him more. More proof that she was a different woman - two years ago, put her in the same situation with a man like Daryl and she would have run from the car screaming, desperate to keep her virginity intact. Now she couldn't imagine anyone else she'd rather be with. She pressed her mouth to his ear. "Trust me," she whispered. "I want this just as much as you."

Daryl closed his eyes, embracing her. Beth slid on top of his cock, slowly taking him in with a soft sigh. His face contorted with pleasure. The feeling of slipping inside of her was like heaven, and he didn't realize just how much he'd missed it. His arms rested on her lower back, with her fingers twisted in his messy hair.

"God, you're perfect," he growled.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, moaning with every thrust. Her hips rose and fell in rhythm with his, grinding her clit against him and trying to get him deeper inside of her. With all of the motion, her blond hair came free of its braid and she shook it out until it spilled over her shoulders like pale moonlight.

The two of them moved faster together in a dizzying frenzy, and the minutes seemed to pass by in slow motion.

Daryl's teeth brushed against Beth's throat, and she tilted her head backward to allow him access. He nipped at her neck, sucking hard, with his teeth scraping gently and making her shiver, before planting rough kisses along her jawline and her collarbones, across her shoulders and down to her breasts. She returned the favor by pulling on his hair in approval, causing him to quicken his pace.

Beth suddenly pulled his head up. "Look at me," she gasped, every word punctuated with a shaky breath as she bounced up and down. "I want you…. to look at me… while you cum..."

He first stared at her soft pink lips, then met her half-lidded blue eyes. Beth had clearly found the perfect spot, as she rocked back and forth against his pubic bone faster and faster. She bucked her hips wildly, her breath growing louder and stronger. Her brow furrowed tightly with impending orgasm. Finally, her head fell back, her fingers frozen clutching his wispy locks, and her lips parted in a squeal, legs trembling as she reached her peak and sparks shot up in front of her.

That was it. It tipped him over the edge. Daryl's nails scraped the flesh of her back, and he thrust into her desperately a few more times, releasing a low groan as he came, hard.

Both of them panted, feeling spent and dazed and riding out the aftershocks. After a few moments, Beth finally pulled herself off of Daryl, yanking her clothes back on as he zipped up his pants and discarded of the condom. They must have been a sight to see, with red mouths, haphazardly thrown-on clothes, and mussed up hair.

Something in the back of Daryl's brain nagged him, saying he should be ashamed, she was so young and she'd only fucked him to rebel against her dead daddy. But looking at that peaceful glow on her face and the way she held his hand seemed to ease his spirit. Happiness didn't come easily these days, and if he could make her smile, he figured he must be doing something right.

Beth lazily leaned back against the passenger's seat. "Damn…."

With a contented sigh, Daryl reached into the center console, pulling out a box of cigarettes and lighting one between his teeth.

"Can I have one?"

Daryl shot her a look. She was serious. That girl was full of surprises. He stared at her for a second, then tossed the box out of the window. "Those things'll give ya cancer." He pulled his sunglasses over his eyes, started the car's ignition, and began to drive away.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading! You guys are awesome! This is going to be the last chapter of this story, but I'm 110% sure I'll post more Bethyl stories soon. If you'd like to follow me on Tumblr, where I sometimes post random Bethyl playlists, drabbles, and ramblings, and general Walking Dead fangirling, my username is kbeth.

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When they finally got back to the funeral parlor, dusk was settling over the horizon. Daryl pulled into the driveway. They both got out, went inside, and quietly went about their business. Daryl sat down to re-string his crossbow while Beth set her bag on a chair and bustled about in the kitchen, fixing them a meal of dry cereal and canned peaches. She managed to catch a glimpse of her reflection in the window and realized her neck was covered in deep purple hickeys. For a moment, she felt grateful that no one was around to question them. _No, I'm okay. I wasn't bitten by a walker…. No, that was just Daryl…. er, surprise?_

As much as she mourned her father every single night, and tearfully prayed to be reunited with her sister and the rest of her group - the people she considered family - she realized that she genuinely enjoyed Daryl's company, and almost didn't mind being holed up in that dreary little house with him. Although she'd been with Daryl and his group for several months now, she didn't know that much about him. Despite the implicit level of trust and bonding between them, she hadn't spent much time alone with him, and every day now she was able to break down his tough, guarded exterior a little more. Even before today's events - hell, even before they'd left the prison - she had been slowly developing feelings for the shy redneck, and didn't think she could keep justifying them anymore as just being glad to have human companionship.

She thought of his words the night before. _Maybe we can stick around here for awhile, you know - stay. We can make it work. _She had been surprised and touched, but she didn't know if he meant it. The idea of staying there with Daryl didn't seem so bad after all. In fact, it filled her with a sense of hope. They could make a life for themselves, even live in peace with the person who'd been taking care of the funeral parlor. They could be happy.

Beth gathered the plates and brought them to the kitchen table. They ate by candlelight, chattering about what the plans were for the next day. Beth wanted to go look for the dog who kept hanging around their porch. It was a miracle he'd made it this long unscathed, though muddy as hell and a little gaunt. She thought it would brighten their spirits, and wanted to protect him from walkers.

"Y'know, I had a dog like him when I was a kid," she continued. "Her name was Lassie."

Daryl shot her a disbelieving stare. "You're shittin' me."

Beth laughed. "No, dead serious. She was so sweet. I remember she ran away one day, and I was devastated. Daddy tried to tell me she went to live on another farm, but Maggie told me she'd probably shacked up with the stray who wandered around the woods…. I always wanted another one after that. Daddy kept saying 'one day, one day, one day'...But that day never came." She frowned, averting her gaze, looking troubled for a minute before returning back to the conversation and smiling as if nothing had happened. "Anyway, my mom was always more of a cat person."

Daryl shook his head and grumbled something about how you couldn't get attached to a damn dog in this world, and how that mutt would be yapping at all hours of the night, bringing every walker in the state to their door.

"'Sides," he grunted. "Dogs are all mangy and smelly, he's sure to bring in fleas."

"Well, so are you, but I still keep ya around," Beth chimed in playfully, earning her an elbow from across the table.

Daryl rolled his eyes and tried to conceal his amused smirk. "Oh, stop."

Their smiles and laughter subsided, and then the topic arose again, the same one that had been touched upon, gently and uncertainly, every day since leaving the prison.

"Are we gonna go look for them tomorrow?"

Daryl looked at Beth, then looked away and nodded.

"Where?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

Beth thought for a moment, glancing at the map that was spread out on the counter. "Well, we can try doubling back through Cedarwood. That's only a few miles away from the prison, right off the path. That's where that old subdivision is, the one I found once on a run with Glenn and Maggie. They could be staying in one of those houses."

"Could be," Daryl agreed, staring pensively into the distance.

"You don't think so?"

"Didn't say that." He sighed. "We'll find 'em, Beth. It'll be alright."

"Yeah," Beth managed. After a pause, she stood up from the table. "Well, I'm going to bed."

"Alright," Daryl replied. "I'll clear the dishes."

She walked over to Daryl, standing over him, and finally kissed his forehead. He closed his eyes and exhaled. Then she cupped his chin and gently kissed him on the lips. He didn't put up a fight, just kissed her back ever so gently, and ran his fingers over hers. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt a bit embarrassed that he was getting so moony over her. Ultimately, though, he realized he just didn't care.

"Goodnight, Daryl," she whispered.

"Night, Beth."

She left the room and took all of the light with her. Daryl finally let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, and stared at his hands until his eyes went blurry, feeling a conflicting sense of peace and a deep, troubling need to protect the only person he seemed to have left in the world.


End file.
